Are your energy bills too high? Did you know the most common causes for high energy bills are poor insulation, outdated equipment or fixtures, and poor energy conservation habits?
Unless you have experience with building or major home repairs (i.e. you are a contractor, or know one personally), there isn’t a whole lot you can do about the first one.
You can certainly update your appliances or “fixtures” which in this case includes lighting fixtures, small appliances and electronics, windows and doors…although this approach can be rather expensive and time consuming. Plus …

There is this almost fanatical belief amongst homeowners that their home must be energy efficient so they can reduce their energy bills. Unfortunately,this is the wrong approach to take. You improve your home, you increase energy efficiency so that you can live comfortably. Then the energy saving comes naturally afterwards. Think of it as comfortable living = energy saving.
The two paths two sometimes cross. For example, in the winter or colder months, if the weather is particularly cold outside one day, you may not be comfortable in your house with …

NEW YORK — The European project known as Desertec is nothing if not ambitious. It aims to harvest the sun’s energy – using a method known as concentrating solar power, or C.S.P. – from the vast North African desert and deliver it as electricity, via high-voltage transmission lines, to markets in Europe. Eventually, its backers say, it could satisfy as much as 15 percent of the European Union’s power needs.
The idea, which has been bouncing around for years, arises out of an alphabet soup of organizations, formal multinational partnerships and …

After you move in
Keep your electricity bills in check right away! If you have the money, replace most or all of the lights with fluorescents. You can stagger this if you wish, and only buy or install the lights you anticipate using most often. Take the old incandescent bulbs, and carefully place them in a bag. Wrap them in newspaper so they won’t break. Store them safely.
If you moved in during the cold season, get some rope caulk and seal the gaps or cracks in …

60%  savings on the electric bill, and 35% off gas/heating bill…read how it was done.
After a previous brutally cold winter, our first focus was the windows. They were in sorry shape, with the window pane itself damaged and the frame warping away. Many were so bad that the windows themselves couldn’t be opened. They simply would not slide up and down.
The screens were in bad shape too, as well the storm windows. We had previously covered up the problem by placing plastic over the window, but …

The cover of this issue depicts extraordinarily useful information: the homes whose attics are inadequately insulated. British residents can go onto the Web and find their homes-or their neighbors’ homes-to determine their thermal efficiency.
This aerial photo, along with the widely available photos in Google Earth and other services, illustrates the rapidly changing definitions of privacy. Thirty years ago, various groups in the United States used high-flying planes to take infrared photos like this one for the same purpose. But those programs were scotched by people outraged by the invasion of …

The elections overshadowed a press release by Energy Star announcing a settlement with LG, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of appliances and consumer electronics. That’s a pity because the settlement sends an important message to manufacturers. It also reveals how valuable LG thinks the Energy Star endorsement actually is.
Recall that Consumer Reports (and Home Energy almost a year earlier) found that LG refrigerators were designed to either circumvent DOE test procedures or were tested in such a manner that led to a much lower energy use than what would …

In a recent post, I talked about the Energy Efficient Mortgage, or EEM for short. In order to qualify, a certified energy rater must come to the home and look in specific areas to determine the home’s efficiency.
What exactly are they looking for?

An energy envelope that is efficient and free of leaks. A building energy envelope is the area surrounding the home or building that affects its energy usage. Typically, this includes the actual frame and construction of the home, the ducts inside the home, windows, doors, insulation, building materials, …

There is a debate in the home energy community over what to do if given the choice between using a microwave oven to cook versus a gas powered range. My obvious advice is this: it really depends on what is being cooked and how much is being prepared. All meals are not created equally.

The holidays are over, and hopefully they have been good to you. Chances are you received some new gadgets, maybe bought a new one or two, or are planning on improvements with your tax refund.
Now is the time to take stock of your energy usage in your home. Yes, today is time for another energy audit.
Once you have everything settled in place, take a few hours to walk through, measure energy usage, and make some estimations as to how much you will use it. Most people’s energy bills spike after …